Long Beach port’s pep rally: Opinion

It seemed more like a company pep talk rather than a stuffy annual state of the Long Beach port address that it could have easily been. And with good reason. The nation’s busiest port is on top again.

Despite a year of public infighting, cost overruns and leadership losses, cargo numbers were up 11 percent last year, the port’s interim director, Al Moro, gleefully told a who’s who of shippers, dock workers, contractors and law enforcement gathered at the free Westin Hotel breakfast, replete with all the standard conference trappings of special lighting, free pens and videos highlighting company progress.

There’s a building boom going on with $788 million spending approved last year for projects that are estimated to bring at least 3,000 construction jobs.

And there was lots of talk about a green port and how the city is leading the way while improving speed and efficiency. What wasn’t mentioned was the biggest quagmire facing the port, run by the city’s Harbor Department: BNSF Railway’s project not far from the port in Wilmington.

The $500 million project known as the Southern California International Gateway would vastly improve transportation for the hundreds of thousands of cargo containers loaded off massive ships and would bring jobs. Los Angeles, within whose city limits it lies, approved the project last year. Then the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the city of Long Beach and others rightfully filed a lawsuit to stop it. They argue that BNSF understates the environmental impact the railway will have on the West Long Beach community. BNSF disagrees.

In the coming years there will be many challenges to the Long Beach port, including the looming expansion of the Panama Canal, which could draw away business to the East Coast.

While Moro gained applause and proudly presented the port’s accomplishment, the issue of BNSF could pose a setback if it’s not resolved for the good of all. There appears to be no solutions on the table and negotiations look slim. With reason, it wasn’t mentioned. It could damper the pep rally.